Update: It's been confirmed by Amazon (looks like I let the cat out of the bag, as I reported this two hours before Amazon). I've included the press release below.As an Amazon affiliate, I get generic reports when people order using my links.Nothing that identifies anyone or even what is ordered at the same time, just a daily summary of what items were both ordered and shipped (so that Amazon can tell me if I made anything that month; the advertising fees from Amazon support both the blog costs and my reading habit). Several readers have placed orders for the new Kindle and Kindle Wi-Fi and this morning one of them is showing that it "shipped" sometime yesterday!
So, one lucky reader has a new Kindle that is "on it's way" -- which may mean, it's in a truck on the loading dock, waiting to be joined by several thousand others, in order to get the best shipping deal from the post office, or it may mean that it's already on the way via UPS or Fedex.
I just checked the status of my order and it has switched to "Shipping Soon", which generally means that shipping labels have been printed and it's being processed/packaged (so the order can't be changed or canceled), but that the package isn't quite wrapped up and on the truck, just yet. My lighted cover is also being processed at the same time (it originally had a week later delivery estimate). Looks like the UPS/Fedex folk will be making to the house this week, after all!
So, did you order one? If so, are you the lucky one whose order has already shipped?
Update: Here's the full press release from Amazon:
New Generation Kindles Are the Fastest-Selling Kindles Ever and Already the Best-Selling Products on AmazonNew Kindles start shipping to customers today--two days ahead of previously announced release date
SEATTLE, Aug 25, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
(NASDAQ: AMZN)--Amazon.com today announced that more new generation Kindles were ordered in the first four weeks of availability than in the same timeframe following any other Kindle launch, making the new Kindles the fastest-selling ever. In addition, in the four weeks since the introduction of the new Kindle and Kindle 3G, customers ordered more Kindles on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk combined than any other product, continuing Kindle's over two-year run as the bestselling product across all the products sold on Amazon.com. The new Kindles started shipping to customers today--two days earlier than previously announced.
"Kindle is the best-selling product on Amazon.com for two years running and our new generation Kindles are continuing that momentum," said Steven Kessel, senior vice president, Amazon Kindle. "Readers are excited about all that the new Kindle has to offer--50 percent better contrast, 20 percent faster page turns, 15 percent lighter, up to one month of battery life--and a new price of only $139."
The all-new Kindle has an electronic-ink screen with 50 percent better contrast than any other e-reader, a new sleek design with a 21 percent smaller body while still keeping the same 6-inch-size reading area, 15 percent lighter weight at just 8.5 ounces, 20 percent faster page turns, up to one month of battery life with wireless off, double the storage to 3,500 books, no glare even in bright sunlight and built-in Wi-Fi--all for only $139. The all-new Kindle 3G with all of these new features plus the convenience of free 3G wireless is only $189.
Early comments from product reviewers on the new Kindle include:
"This e-book reader's lighter weight and complete overhaul make the third-generation Kindle the best reader from Amazon yet... After spending some quality time curled up with the new Kindle, I have to say it's the first e-reader in months that's left me wanting to read more. Its solid build quality, along with its improved design, integrated store, and cross-platform transportability (books are usable on any Kindle reader app, including iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, and PC) all add up to a winner that shoots to the head of the pack." - PC World
"Despite some predictions that the iPad and other Web-oriented tablets would start the Kindle doom clock ticking, its continued popularity bodes well for the future of single-purpose long-form reading devices. The new third-generation Kindle only makes that future brighter. All its basic virtues--instant downloading from an abundantly stocked store, light weight, ability to read in sunlight--are still there, with significant improvements in text readability, physical design, and battery life." - Wired
"...given its new low price along with its massive library of ebooks and dead-simple book buying, the Kindle keeps its crown as our Editors' Choice. Simply put, it's the best dedicated ebook reader you can buy." - PC Magazine
"Amazon's newest Kindle (simply called "Kindle," though it's sometimes referred to as the "Kindle 3") is the best ebook-reading device on the market." - Fast Company
Also in the four weeks since their introduction:
* Kindle and Kindle 3G are the most gifted and most wished for products on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk combined.
* Customers in 125 countries on six continents from Austria to Zimbabwe have already placed orders for the new generation Kindles. Some of the most remote shipments will be sent as far away as Mongolia and the Northern Mariana Islands.
* Customers are already ordering books to read on their new Kindles. The most popular are the books in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, "Star Island" by Carl Hiaasen and "The Rembrandt Affair" by Daniel Silva.
Kindle offers the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read. The U.S. Kindle Store now has more than 670,000 books, including New Releases and 107 of 111 New York Times Best Sellers. Over 550,000 of these books are $9.99 or less, including 73 New York Times Best Sellers. Over 1.8 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available to read on Kindle devices. More than 235,000 books have been added to the Kindle Store in just the last seven months, including New York Times Best Sellers "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" and "The Passage."
Kindle lets you Buy Once, Read Everywhere--on Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android-based devices. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off. With Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.
Customers can discover full details and order the new Kindle and Kindle 3G at www.amazon.com/kindle3G and www.amazon.com/kindleWi-Fi.
For high-resolution images of the new generation Kindle, visit www.amazon.com/pr/kindle/images.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle, Kindle 3G and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.cn. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
SOURCE: Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline, 206-266-7180
www.amazon.com/pr/kindle
